These little bars are more blueberry than lemon, but have just enough lemon to make the lemon lovers happy. A great pairing of the two flavors with a streusel topping that adds some crunch.
Ingredients:
3 cups (13-1/2 oz) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups rolled oats (not quick oats)
1 1/3 cups packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg, separated
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (2-3 lemons)
2 teaspoons lemon zest (2-3 lemons)
3 cups room-temperature blueberries
Servings: 1 9x13 Pan or 2 8x8 pans
Instructions:
-Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 13x9 metal baking pan with foil, leaving a slight overhang on both sides to lift the bars out. Spray the pan/foil with cooking spray. If you forget to line the pan, or don't have the stuff for it, don't panic. Just easier to make these look pretty when you can lift them out.
Mix the flour, oats, brown sugar, salt and baking powder together in a mixer or large bowl. Use a pastry blender (or your fingers) to cut the butter into the dry ingredients completely (again, or just use the mixer) until fine and sand like. Set aside and reserve 2 cups of these crumbs for the topping.
Beat the egg white with a fork until broken up and foamy. Add it to the crumbs and mix to incorporate. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan (or pans) and press to form an even layer of crust. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until the top starts to look dry.
Meanwhile, whisk the condensed milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and egg yolk together in a medium bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes; the mixture will begin to thicken slightly.
When the crust has finished baking, transfer the pan to a wire rack and sprinkle the blueberries evenly over the hot crust. Drop spoonfuls of the lemon mixture over the blueberries then spread the lemon mixture gently to distribute it. Work carefully so you don't crush the berries; the lemon layer doesn't have to cover every bit of the crust. Bake until the lemon layer begins to form a shiny skin, about 7-8 minutes.
Remove the pan to a wire rack and use your fingers to press the reserved crumb mixture into small clumps and sprinkle them over the lemon layer. Use all of the crumb mixture to cover the lemon layer completely. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling at the edges and the streusel topping is golden brown.
Shortly after these come out of the oven, you can eat this with a spoon if you like to serve is sort of cobbler style. It is great this way. I made the mistake of trying to cut these bars while "just warm" as the original instructions say and found them to be a mess this way, but very tasty! Otherwise, cool and chill completely before trying to cut these into bars! Store in the refrigerator.
Nutritional Information:
Recipe From: Tracey's Culinary Adventures
I made these for a BBQ in two 8x8 pans (unlined), some day I will have an oven big enough for a 9x13 inch pan, some day. However I did each one of these one at a time. I baked the crust on one, applied blueberry and lemon, baked and then did the stopping. Then I did the other pan. I think it will get soggy if you try to leave the "filling" on the baked crust while waiting for the other one to finish, so careful.
I also don't see why you couldn't mix the blueberries and the filling and then spread in the pan. I didn't try it, but co crazy with it, I don't think it will matter one bit.
I added more blueberries than the original recipe called for (they wanted 2.5) but I had thawed about 3 cups and I think this worked better any way. The blueberries more "evenly coated" my two 8x8 pans. Maybe in a 13x9 the 2.5 cups would have been perfect but I wanted the extra that I had thawed. Also, feel free to use frozen. Fresh would be better I am sure, but frozen still made one tasty bar.
Serve them warm or cold, I found both ways tasty. Cold makes great bars, warm makes great spooned "crisp". Warm with good vanilla ice cream might be perfect for a winter treat.
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